Rolls-Royce at the Racetrack

by Peter W. Frey

The Power of Perfection

A Rolls-Royce is many things.  The ultimate automotive status symbol.  A pinnacle of craftsmanship.  Art on wheels.  The best way in the world to get from point A to point B.  On the spectrum of human experience, driving a Rolls-Royce is an experience both pleasurable and rare.

In early November, however, a small group of extraordinarily fortunate individuals transcended mere rarity and moved up to a level that demands words like ‘singular’ and ‘unique’ during an event called “The Power of Perfection.”  It’s likely there are more astronauts in the world than there are people who’ve had this particular experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDR2kN8nrLc

Jointly sponsored by Rolls-Royce and Braman Rolls-Royce of Palm Beach, the half-day program held at Palm Beach International Raceway provided the opportunity to drive all three Rolls-Royce models back-to-back, two of them on the racetrack and one through the well-manicured wilds of Palm Beach Gardens.

Elite Owners

“I bought my first Rolls-Royce, a Flying Spur with custom coachwork, in London in 1956 and have always admired their brilliant engineering and remarkable history.” says Palm Beach entrepreneur David Gilmour, who arrived at the event in his British Racing Green Bentley. Gilmour is the founder of Fiji Water and owner of the 2,200-acre Fijian island where he grows the ginger powder that forms the basis of his newest enterprise, a wellness line called Wakaya Perfection.  “Cars like this are always a treasure to drive; it’s better than flying first class.”

Rolls-Royce Wraith

And the newest generation of Rolls-Royce vehicles continues that tradition of brilliance with three models.  The Rolls-Royce Wraith is the newest Rolls-Royce, the first ‘fastback’ in the company’s history and a bad-boy muscle car designed from the ground up for younger driver with sporting inclinations.  It’s a remarkably harmonious blend of seemingly disparate elements; impeccable taste, impressive technology and serious muscles – twelve cylinders, twin turbochargers, 624 horsepower and 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds.

Rolls-Royce Ghost

The new Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II is a self-assured habitué of both gym and boardroom, the epitome of modern technology dressed in a bespoke suit, tie and shoes.  The twin-turbocharged V-12 under the hood produces 563 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 60 in 4.7 seconds.  And the Phantom is tradition incarnate, a mature practitioner of the art of power – both real and perceived – with a 453 horsepower V-12 under the hood.  It’s very much informed by a nautical theme and driving one, particularly the Drophead Coupe, feels like piloting a Chris-Craft mahogany powerboat.

Impressive numbers from a company that, back in the day, when asked how much horsepower their engines produced, traditionally responded with a pithy ‘…adequate.”

Rolls-Royce Phantom

The day’s program, in addition to a gourmet lunch and stitching demonstration by a craftsperson from the Rolls-Royce upholstery shop, involved dividing drivers into three groups, each rotating between several versions of each model.  Wraith and Ghost drivers headed for the racetrack while ‘wafting’ in the Rolls-Royce Phantom took place on the narrow but scenic tree-lined streets nearby.  Every car on the track had a professional driver from the factory assigned to ride shotgun to provide personal instruction, useful information for drivers accustomed to tip-toeing around in their personal Rolls-Royces but now being offered the opportunity to mash the gas, mash the brakes and fling somebody else’s around until the tires howled.

“This was a first from Rolls-Royce and while the execution was everything you would expect, the cars were a surprise,” says Braman Rolls-Royce Sales Manager Ed Shepherd.  “Reactions were so strong that we sold a car on the spot.  Our customers are used to world-class cars and  treatment, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime event that exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

Final impressions?  The Phantom is designed to make a statement while making you feel handsome and rich, and no car in the world does it better.  It accelerates smartly, but no provisions have been made for hot-rodding, nor would it be appropriate.  The Wraith and Ghost however, in addition to all the usual Rolls-Royce virtues, are capable of performance that stunned drivers who thought they were well familiar with such machines. Not that they’re likely to start taking their own cars out to the racetrack, but next time you see a Rolls-Royce going around a corner at what seems an unusually sporty pace, you’ll know where that driver was on November 7, 2014.